2017 brought much to enjoy in local arts, entertainment

In a couple of days, the curtains will close on another year of excellent arts and entertainment events on the Emerald Coast.

Writing about the highlights should be enjoyable, but I’m always concerned I’ll leave out someone’s personal favorite, or worse, forget one of my own. We are blessed with a rich and diverse community of talented people who provide such a bounty of cultural offerings that I don’t make it to nearly every show or concert or event. So I’m bound to miss and/or overlook some great stuff.

Nonetheless, I hope you have fun remembering your special moments from 2017 as I share some of mine.

On Jan. 19, we launched the first ever entertainment podcast at the Daily News. It’s gone through several iterations since then but is going strong with Savannah Evanoff, Jennie McKeon, Seth Stringer and myself sharing our thoughts and discoveries. Find the Day & Night podcast on iTunes and the Google Play Music Store.

I met Jason Alexander in January at an event celebrating the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra’s 30th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of the Mattie Kelly Arts Center at Northwest Florida State College.

In February, the DN Concert Series debuted to great success. We’ve taken a break during the holidays, but some performances are already lined up for next month. They’re streamed live on the Day & Night Facebook page and also recorded for posting and viewing later.

March brought the end of my four-year term of service on the Florida Council of Arts and Culture. It was a wonderful experience I will always treasure.

The month also saw 12-year-old Aidan Berry of Shalimar ace the “Kids Baking Championship” on Food Network. We had a blast following Aidan’s achievements in the nationally televised competition. It was a delight to meet him after it was all over.

April rocked with “One Night of Queen,” an Artist Series performance at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center. It was by far one of the best tribute shows I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen several.

I also went “Into the Woods” in April with the fantastic Fort Walton Beach High School Theater Department led by the amazing Christa Whittaker.

May brought the awesomeness that was the 10th anniversary presentation of Digital Graffiti, an international art exhibition at Alys Beach. I’d always wanted to see this unique event, and 2017 was the year I finally did. It was incredible.

Also incredible, the Emerald Coast Theatre Co. conceived, organized and brought to life the first Northwest Florida Theater Festival for two weeks in May at Miramar Beach. It was a dream come true for ECTC founders Nathanael and Anna Fisher.

June 9 will be remembered in the history of the Daily News as when DN: Day & Night — our revved up, renamed new weekly entertainment magazine — launched. Filling twice as many pages with even more cool features keeps us busy, and we appreciate the ongoing accolades from our readers and advertisers.

July is a quiet month on the Emerald Coast after the Fourth. It’s too hot to do much unless you’re on the beach or in the fabulous summer musical production at NWFSC, which this year was “Sister Act.”

August, on the other hand, proved unusually busy.

Celebrating their 45th season, Stage Crafters touched our hearts with “Steel Magnolias.” The universe stoked our sense of wonder with a total solar eclipse. I received the huge honor of being inducted into the Okaloosa County Women’s Hall of Fame for my contributions to the cultural community.

The Emerald Coast Theater Co. began its fifth anniversary season in September with the hilarious “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.” We all were kept on alert for days as Hurricane Irma tracked this way and that putting nearly all of Florida in its path at one time or another.

Another tropical system prompted the cancellation of the Destin Seafood Festival the first weekend in October, and everyone felt that loss. Meanwhile, we created the first “haunted” issue of DN. It was so much fun, it might become an annual tradition.

November snapped into place with another outstanding Stage Crafters show – “Addams Family, the Musical.” For the Eating Out feature, I wrote about Sealand, which became my favorite restaurant of the year.

December brought us one more surprise from Mother Nature. Snow! It fell in the wee hours on Dec. 9. Such a rare delight on the Emerald Coast. Another treat from above I saw this month is the Umbrella Sky art installation in Pensacola. I’m sharing some photos on today’s DN Scene page to close out 2017.

Enjoy, and Happy New Year!

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.